Great Forgotten Ends of the 1930’s

This article was written by Stan Grosshandler and was originally published in The Coffin Corner in 1993. The Coffin Corner is the official magazine of the Professional Football Researchers Association. Visit PFRA’s website to learn how to become a member today!

There was once a position called END!

The end played on both sides of the line of scrimmage; therefore, there was a left end and a right end. There were no split ends, tight ends, wide receivers, flankers, wide outs, or anything else.

There were just plain ENDS!

Now end was a very difficult position to play. You had to catch passes all over the field, block a tackle who vastly outweighed you, and stop end sweeps by throwing yourself into an interference that consisted of two running guards built like tanks and a pretty hefty blocking back built like a bull.

You were expected to play sixty minutes, which often meant you had to chase a pass the length of the field, then block that monster in front of you, and next go on defense and break up the interference. Some days it was just plain hell!

Four ends from the 1930’s, Don Hutson, Red Badgro, Bill Hewitt, and Wayne Millner are honored in the Hall of Fame. A fifth, Ray Flaherty, is in the Pro Football Hall for his coaching success, but was a very good end as a player.

During the early years of the NFL, George Halas, an old right end himself, did a pretty good job of collecting most of the talent. Besides Hewitt, he had Luke Johnsos, Bill Karr, Eggs Manske, Dick Plasman, and George Wilson.

Johnsos and Karr played the right side opposite Hewitt. With the Bears from 1929 through 1936, Luke had a career total of 87 receptions and 19 TDs. He served as co-head coach during Halas’ tour in the Navy during World War II. Bill Karr played from 1933 through 1938, scoring 18 TDs on a career total of only 48 receptions.

Eggs Manske studied law before joining the Eagles in 1935. He became a Bear in 1937, went to Pittsburgh the next season, and returned to Bears in 1939. Dick Plasman also joined the Bears in 1937. Known as the last player to play without a head gear, Dick took off two years for military service, returned in 1944 and then played for the Cards in 1946 and 1947. He played both defensive end and tackle with the Cards.

A long time Bear (1937-1946), George Wilson is best remembered as the man who with one block took out Jimmy Johnston and Ed Justice enabling Bill Osmanski to score the first six points of the great 73-0 rout of the Redskins in the 1940 championship game. Considered one of the great tacticians of the game, George coached the Lions from 1957 through 1964 and the Dolphins from 1966 to 1969. He also put in one season in the National Basketball League (1939-40).

The Packers, one of the early teams to have a potent passing attack, had Lavie Dilweg from 1927 through 1934 and Milt Gantenbein who arrived for a ten-year stay in 1931. A fine blocker, Gantenbein was “the other end” to Don Hutson at Green Bay, just as Bear Bryant had been at Alabama.

Joe Carter was one of the better, and lesser known ends of the early days. He played for the Eagles from 1933 through 1940, the Packers in 1942, spent 1943 in service and then two more seasons as a Brooklyn Dodger and Chicago Cardinal. In 1934, Joe tied with Red Badgro for most receptions in the league with 16.

Gaynell Tinsley, a highly touted All-American from LSU, hit the NFL in 1937 as a Cardinal. With his LSU passer, Pat Coffee, Tinsley gained a record 675 yards on receptions as he caught 36 passes and scored five touchdowns. On December 5th, he caught a 97 yard pass from Coffee that is still among the longest in history. The following season against the Rams, he took a 98 yarder from Doug Russell. This was the only TD he scored all season. Tinsley did not play the 1939 season. After a dispute over his salary, he decided to become a high-school coach; however, he returned for the 1940 campaign, his last. In only three seasons, he caught 93 passes for 1,356 yards.

Jim Benton was another high profile collegian when he joined the Cleveland Rams in 1938. At Arkansas, he had teamed with Jack Robbins and Dwight Sloan to make the Razorbacks the best passing team in the nation. Benton sat out the 1941 season, returned in 1942, was loaned to the Bears for 1943, returned to the Rams in 1944 and then moved to Los Angeles with the team, retiring after the 1947 season. Jim led the league in touchdowns by receivers in 1939, was the total yard leader in both 1945 and 1946; also leading in receptions the latter year. His 303 yards in a single game against Detroit in 1945 remains the third best single day achievement on record.

Both the Giants and Redskins were dominant in the 1930’s and each had notable ends. Jim Poole stood out at left end from 1937 until he went into the service in 1942. He played briefly for the Cards in 1945 but returned to the Giants for the 1945 and 1946 seasons. His teammate Jim Lee Howell started in 1937, went to the service for three seasons, and upon returning in 1946 played through 1948. He later coached the Giants for seven seasons.

Charlie Malone joined the 1934 Boston Braves and went with the team to Washington. He did not play in 1941, returned the next year and then entered the service. Bob McChesney also joined the club in Boston and played until 1943 when he went into the service. He never returned to the NFL.

The classic example of a great forgotten end who played with a forgotten team is Perry Schwartz of the late and lamented Brooklyn Dodgers. Starring on both offense and defense from 1938 through 1942, he then lost three seasons to military service before returning to play for the 1946 New York Yankees of the AAFC.

While the stats in the following table may not look impressive, it should be noted the most pass attempts in 1937 were made by the “pass happy” Redskins, a total of 222. The best completion percentage that year was 44.6%. The fewest attempts in 1991 were 414 and no team had a completion percentage below 50.5%.

Comments

THE COFFIN CORNER: Vol. 3, No. 8 (1981)
THE NFL DOWN UNDER
By Stanley Grosshandler

The usual choice is a kick, and there are three kinds. The drop kick sends the ball end over end, and good kicker can get it 70-80 yards. The stab punt and screw punt, similar to our punts, will send a spiral 50-60 yards.

RE your mention of the Stab Punt.

I invented the stab punt in Australian Rules Football at 15 years of age in 1949. I converted the stab kick into a stab punt, The stab kick and my stab punt are low tradjectory short passes of about 15 to 40 metres

Stab Kick to Stab Punt in 1949 an Australian Rules Football Development.

The following extract is from the Face to Face Exhibition of Oct. 13 to Nov. 13 2011
at the Lilydale Museum.
Face to Face: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives

Muddy Conditions Countered Johnson was outstanding in the mud with clever turning and accurate disposal. Ringwood Mail, August1951
In 1949 Mt Evelyn football grounds surface was uneven and often very muddy. Studying Jack Dyer’s drop-punt, 14-year-old Mt Evelyn player Jim Johnson adapted it into a field pass in 1948. Then, at 15, Jim invented and used a low, fast punt kick known as a stab-punt pass or Daisy Cutter.
Jim used both the field pass and the stab-punt pass at full pace. Because the ball was kicked before it touched the ground, and stayed low, it was accurate in mud and windy conditions.
Journalists didn’t know what to call Jim’s techniques. Frank Casey wrote in The Post on 8 September 1960, Johnson sent his delightful little drop punt pass direct to Manfield. The same day Davey Crocket reported in the Ringwood Mail, Johnson should write a book on stab kicking he has found the lost art.
Both kicks are in constant use today in Australian Rules football as they are suitable for fast play-on football.
This story was researched and contributed by Mount Evelyn History Group for The Yarra Ranges Regional Museum Face to Face Exhibition from 13 October to 13 November2011.

See Google “Stab Punt Jim” Text and Video on the Mount Evelyn Football Club Web site. See Club Video’s, Jim Johnson.

I trust this bit of “Australian Rules Football” history may be of interest.